Family’s grief for ‘gentle giant’ Eddie after fatal ambulance wait

Steven and Brenda – the aunt and uncle of 54-year-old Hectorville man “Eddie” who turned the face of South Australia’s ramping disaster final week – advised reporters at this time their nephew was an  “everlasting baby” and a “nice child”.

“Eddie was a mild big,” Brenda mentioned.

“He was a child, and he was all the time going to be a child.

“That was his life. He was a beautiful lad.”

A triple zero name from Eddie’s incapacity care residence was made on December 27 to report he was struggling belly ache and vomiting. He was assessed as requiring an ambulance inside 60 minutes.

However as a result of vital ramping and stress on the hospital system that night time, an ambulance didn’t arrive for greater than 10 hours.

Eddie’s situation deteriorated and he was upgraded to a precedence one with an ambulance arriving inside 4 minutes, however he died.

Eddie’s uncle, Steven, mentioned his nephew didn’t have a voice.

“He was an everlasting baby that was extraordinarily… sick all through his life,” Steve mentioned.

“However he wanted assist, and he didn’t obtain the assistance he well-deserved.

The identification of the person who tragically died on December 27 ready for an ambulance has been confirmed. #9News

SEE THE FULL STORY: https://t.co/qAtk8SWGvN pic.twitter.com/8VtjuLb06m

— 9News Adelaide (@9NewsAdel) January 4, 2024

“He didn’t have a voice. He couldn’t inform anyone ‘please get the ambulance to me, I want it desperately’.

“He couldn’t discuss, so he simply needed to endure whereas calls had been made, and he simply didn’t make it… when the ambulance arrived it was simply too late for him.

“He was an incredible child in his method, however he was additionally a person who ought to have been handled with extra respect and dignity.

“We’re simply so upset with the result of all this. Particularly once we needed to put up with the anguish of images that had been being proven on TV with my sister (Eddie’s Mum).”

Steven later added that Eddie “should have been feeling like he was going by means of hell with the ache”.

“I might have thought that an individual with a incapacity that he might have had extra of a precedence than was given,” he mentioned.

“To attend 10 hours is simply not on.”

Steven and Brenda appeared at a media convention at this time alongside Opposition chief David Speirs and Opposition well being spokesperson Ashton Hurn.

Brenda and Steven chatting with the media at this time in entrance of Opposition well being spokesperson Ashton Hurn. Picture: Tony Lewis/InDaily

The household mentioned Eddie’s mom was hospitalised due to the incident and is “completely damaged”.

In addition they indicated they weren’t absolutely conscious of the circumstances of Eddie’s loss of life till it appeared on the TV information on January 5 – greater than every week after his loss of life – though police had notified the mom.

“Police had talked about one thing in regards to the ambulance didn’t are available time and he had handed away, after which… mainly it didn’t actually sink in correctly for her,” Steven mentioned.

“She’s 82 years previous and he or she was watching TV with me as a result of I needed to go round to see her for one more causes and it all of the sudden got here on TV, and that was devastating for each of us.

“We couldn’t imagine what we’d seen, to let you know the reality.”

Final week, Premier Peter Malinauskas mentioned Eddie’s household had a proper to really feel indignant in regards to the case and vowed to proceed the federal government’s efforts to repair ambulance ramping, which rose to a file 4285 hours in November.

Labor promised earlier than the election to “repair the ramping disaster” and make investments extra within the well being system.

Brenda referred to as on the federal government to fulfil its promise.

“Mr Malinauskas, you promised South Australia that you simply had been going to repair the ramping – you have got failed,” she mentioned.

“Eddie is one other statistic and we need to be right here at this time to make anyone accountable and somebody must step up the mark and take account for what you’ve completed.

“We don’t want one other household to undergo what we’ve gone by means of. We don’t need anymore deaths. Repair the ramping, repair the well being system that you simply promised to repair.

“Get up Mr Malinauskas. That is your fault, your downside, repair it, and the buck stops with you.”

A authorities spokesperson mentioned Eddie’s case was beneath overview.

“Senior SA Ambulance workers spoke with Eddie’s mom over the telephone on Monday and provided her an in-person assembly with the reviewers of Eddie’s case, together with SA Ambulance’s Chief Medical Adviser Dr Amy Keir,” the spokesperson mentioned.

“SAAS is following up once more with Eddie’s mom at this time to attempt to verify a time for this assembly.

“The reviewers will make themselves out there to talk with Eddie’s aunt and uncle. One of many points the overview will look at is the circumstance of the triage of Eddie’s case as a Class 5.

“As soon as the case was upgraded to a Class 1 an ambulance arrived in 4 minutes. Whereas we’ve got already invested billions of {dollars} in bettering the well being system, we all know far more must be completed with extra medical doctors, nurses, paramedics and hospital beds being employed and constructed.”

Supported by the Authorities of South Australia